


FanStarky

by Gaia_bing



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Eventual Romance, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Sexual Fantasy, Video & Computer Games, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-02-24 05:37:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13207095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaia_bing/pseuds/Gaia_bing
Summary: The FanStarky is the hottest game console this Holiday season and for some reason, new neighbors Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers both end up receiving the machine as gifts.And they both become absolutely addicted to the machine and its revolutionary game-play, what with becoming the hero of their own story and all...But then, what happens when they both end up meeting and what happens in reality ends up mixing itself with their very own video-game fantasies?





	1. We'll be right back after these messages

**Author's Note:**

> So, new work by yours truly! I hope you like it as much as as I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy writing it. :)

There is a TV ad that has begun to air in the New York market since the beginning of the summer and it goes a little something like this:

"Hi there, I'm Tony Stark, President of not only the world-wide known Stark Industries, but also the newly founded Stark Entertainment.

  
Tell me, are you a fan of videogames? If you aren't, then turn the channel towards something else, like Shark Week or reruns of Iron Chef.

But, if you are and you're still watching me at this very moment, boy do I have the offer for you!

  
See the elegant helmet that I'm wearing right now? What do you think it is? An Occulus Rift?! Oh, please! And these lovely gloves right here? Some form of Kinect?! Get out of town!

  
Those kind of trash belong in a junkyard, along with all of the old tech our parents and grandparents used to spend their Saturday afternoon with!

  
No, what I have to offer you is much, much better than all of those things _combined_.

  
What I have to offer you is an **opportunity**...

  
The opportunity to do things you've only dreamed before,

  
The opportunity to achieve things mere humans could never even hope to achieve,

  
The opportunity to become the hero or the heroine of your very own story...

  
Of your very own videogame.

  
_But how do I do all of that_ , you're probably asking yourself right now?

  
With the brand new virtual console that I and most importantly all of the hard-working people at Stark Entertainment will be putting out this Holiday season and that will become the talk of the town, the whole country, hell the whole _world_ when everyone gets their hands on it:

  
The FanStarky.

  
The FanStarky,

  
Play your dreams,

  
Live your fantasies."


	2. Moving for the Holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two different people, moving at different times, both get the same kind of gift.

_**Washington DC, Thanksgiving 2017.** _

  
"Alright, alright, everyone gather around! It's time for the often-copied-but-could-never-quite-get-it-right Turkey Lurkey Gift Exchange Extravaganza!" the hostess of the night, Natasha Romanov, proudly called out while filling her champagne glass and stepping up towards the gathering place, inside the living-room by the huge and already-made Christmas tree.

  
Steve Rogers, smiled as he munched on what was probably his sixth pretzel bowl of the night, sitting on the nearby couch right next to his soon-to-be-ex-roommate Sam Wilson. Sure, a part of him was quite sad to be leaving this place, the first home he'd been able to afford from his own pocket after graduating from college. But, as a longly-steady couple, Natasha and Sam deserved their privacy and with how the rent prices were these days, they couldn't afford a newer place with an ever steeper monthly fee.

  
So Steve, being the ever gallant man that he was, had offered to step aside and let Natasha get his place inside the lease he and Sam had signed only three years earlier.

  
And sure, he'd miss the place he'd gotten the chance to call home and the people that he'd gotten to know as his friends, but...

  
But...

  
Steve's stomach flipped like a happy little puppy just at the thought of what was to come for him...

  
A brand new job, thanks to Nick Fury, owner of the _Shield Museum_ , who'd been delighted to see his raw potential displayed inside the numerous paintings the blond man had shown him during his interview,

  
A brand new apartment that he didn't got to share with nobody but himself, all refurnished with top-of-the-line equipment and some fine, fine-looking furniture at an even lower price than the one that he was sitting inside right now,

  
A freakin' steal the whole thing was.

  
And, most exciting of all, he was finally coming home to New York City, most precisely to good ole' Brooklyn, after all those years away.

  
A snap of dark-skinned fingers interrupted his inside giddiness.

  
"Oh, buddy! Guess who got you for Turkey Lurkey!" Sam announced while wiggling his eyebrows, shoving a rectangle box inside the blond's hands.

  
It was beautifully wrapped with a nice little silver bow on top. Steve went to shake the package, trying to see if he could guess its content just by the rattle that it would make, but Sam quickly blocked his attempt.

  
"Don't even think about it, okay? I've been saving for two months now for you to get this and it's going to cost me an additional three if you go crazy with it, alright?" his best friend warned him, making Steve slightly frown.

  
"But I thought we promised nothing expensive this year!" he proclaimed, silently worrying his recently-bought cactus wasn't enough now to do the trick.

  
"Yeah, I know. But with everything that's going to change pretty soon around here, I just thought you needed something that would make you remember your old buddy whenever you used it, because of how thankful you'd be that I ended up buying you this thing." Sam explained, looking down at the living-room carpet a bit sheepishly.

  
Steve shook his head, but with a slight smile on his face. Carefully this time around, he opened up the packet to reveal...

  
"You surely didn't..." he whispered in awe as he realized what his best friend had given him just now.

  
"Oh yes, I surely did." Sam answered, now looking at his best friend in the eye with a growing smile.

  
"But it's not supposed to come out for another month at the minimum! How did you?!" the blond man asked, now completely confused.

  
Sam proudly beamed as he explained: "Well, let's just say I know a guy that knows a girl, that she herself knows a guy, that promised to get me an early finished copy of the thing for about fifty buck cheaper than it's supposed to cost when it comes on sale. You wanted to know how I could afford this? Well, there you go."

  
Steve looked once more at the package in his hands in almost reverence...

  
Oh, he'd be forever thankful for his old buddy alright.

  
Because right now, he was holding...

  
************

  
**_Brooklyn, December 26th, 2017._ **

  
"...A _FanStarky_?! How in the hell did _that_ get in here!?" James "Bucky" Barnes exclaimed to pretty much no one.

  
Here he was, inside his brand new top-of-the-line-but-cheap-as-hell apartment, having just unzipped one of the many, _many_ suitcases that he'd brought along with him and for the life of him, he couldn't remember ever buying this, especially with how expensive it was.

  
But fortunately, his ponderings and his wonderings were quickly answered when he turned over the large rectangle box and found himself face-to-face with a piece of white paper attached to its back.

  
_"Happy Day-after-Christmas, big bro!"_ it cheerfully read. Bucky smiled when he recognized the cursive writing of his younger sister Rebecca.

  
He read the rest of the note: _"I know what you're thinking right now: "Hey! Didn't we exchange all of our gifts yesterday? What the hell is going on here?" Well, this one's a freebie from me **and** mom. We wanted to give you a little something to make you feel a little bit less lonely now that you're living in the big city, all by yourself, inside a cold and lifeless apartment instead of the cheery and warm family home that you've been sharing with your awesome little sister for the past twenty years or so. _

_Well, that you **used** to share, until today. But hey, it was **your** choice to get yourself a brand new job and a brand new life away from us, so what the hell can I do about it..."_

  
But Bucky, knowing his little sister's weird sense of humor, didn't fall for her trap made of pure pity as he turned the note over and couldn't help but shake his head when he read the additional:

  
_"Just kidding! Just remember your promise to come see us whenever you get some free time. And bring any future conquest along with you! But hey, if you can't find any, this little machine that is now yours apparently has some X-rated stuff in it alongside all of the more, well, conservative substance that it contains! So, if in the end you can't get some tail in reality, do it virtually!_

  
_Love you!_

  
_Your rad little sister,_

  
_Rebecca."_

  
Bucky slightly winced to himself...

  
Damn him for making his only sibling his cannot-get-laid-confidante.

  
He took a glance at the machine inside his hands.

  
Maybe he could give this thing a whirl.

  
He had nothing better to do,

  
He wouldn't begin his new job until tomorrow morning,

  
Maybe some time in the virtual world would do him some good,

  
Before facing the _real_ world that was about to open itself to him...

 


	3. First impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky takes his brand-spanking new console for a test drive.

Bucky made sure everything was as it should be:

  
-AC Adapter that plugged into the wall? Set and ready to go.

  
-Cable that connected the VR Helmet and the Touchy-Feely Gloves™ together? Plugged in as well.

  
-Helmet and Gloves? Put on each respective body parts.

  
-Mic turned towards mouth? Done and done.

  
-And finally, Power? Turned on.

  
And Bucky almost took a real-life step-back when he found himself staring at the inside of a fully-working lab.

  
Just to make sure he hadn't unconscious-walked somewhere he shouldn't have, he removed his helmet for a moment and put it back back on with a slight nod to himself.

  
He was still in his almost-empty apartment, still playing with his newly-connected console. Good.

  
He'd been surprised and almost suspicious at what he'd been staring at, because...well...

  
If only you could **see** the quality of those graphics that he himself was staring at right now!

  
It really _was_ that sweet, sweet 8K resolution that had been promised right on box, that was for sure.

  
He was about to do a little bit of investigating, maybe try to see if the frame-rate was equal everywhere, when something that sounded liek a whistle made him turn his head to the right and Bucky found himself face-to-face with a smiling and waving Tony Stark.

  
How did he know that this was Tony Stark, inventor of the FanStarky and awesome, awesome guy?

  
Well, it was written right there underneath the man's waist, "awesome" written twice for good measure.

  
Putting his virtual arms back behind himself, Tony smiled even wider as he began his introduction:

  
_"Hello, this is a tutorial to show you around and let you know how this little machine that I and the good people at Stark Entertainment made and you and your little rectangle thingy that's either a credit card, debit card, smart phone or a large wad of cash purchased work. Now then, let me show you the ropes."_

  
With a snap of his fingers, the same kind of gloves that Bucky was wearing at the moment appeared out of thin air and right onto Tony's wiggling hands.

 _"The "Pause" Button is at the center of the right glove."_ the virtual billionaire explained, pointing at the middle of his palm.

...

  
...

  
...

  
...Well?

  
_"Well, that's it. That's all the explanations that you need."_

  
...What?

  
"What?" Bucky couldn't help but call out through his mic.

  
The Virtual-Tony looked sheepishly downwards as he scratched the back of his virtual neck, before looking back up once more and shrugging.

  
_"Yeah, yeah, I know. " **That's a lame tutorial, I want my money back!"**_ _you're probably thinking to yourself right now_." he explained, before his face broke into an enigmatic smile as he added:

  
_"But really, you don't really need me to tell you what to do, what with all of the games that you've played before, do you James?"_

  
This left Bucky with his mouth slightly agape, sputtering out: "Wha...ho...gah...huh?!"

  
The Virtual-Tony smiled even wider as he continued:

  
_"What? You thought this was just your run-of-the-mill Virtual Console? Oh no, buddy! The helmet that you're wearing right now? It has hyper-sensitive brain censors and with it, this whole machine can read your thoughts, it can interpret your dreams and, besides some things that wouldn't be okay into the eyes of the law, it can make you live out your greatest fantasies."_

  
Walking right in front of his eyes, the Virtual-Tony clapped his hands together and finished:

  
_"After all, as I advertised before, this is **your** story that you're playing here. So then, let's see what kind of games you're really into."_

  
Titles that Bucky was all-too-familiar with suddenly appeared before him.

  
And he noticed that the Virtual-Tony's body had disappeared and only his voice remained right beside his ear as he said:

  
_"Well, well, well! A World War II fanboy we have before us! "Call of Duty", "Sniper Elite", "Battlefield", "Wolfenstein"? So then, tell me James... or should I say "Bucky", like you like to be called.._."

"Y-yeah?" stammered out the man in question, completely confused, yet slightly curious by what was going on.

  
_"Well then, as I was saying, Bucky, tell me...would this kind of scenario be interesting to you?"_ the voice that Bucky now knew really was the AI of the whole thing asked and suddenly, he found himself standing inside a worn-out cabin and when he looked down at himself, he saw that he was wearing fatigues that would have been in fashion more than seventy years ago.

 

  
A very posh-looking man, giant mustache and bowler hat supporting that fact, entered the habitat and glanced at Bucky's own virtual body one way down and one way up before asking him: _"So, you're the new recruit everyone's been boasting about, huh?"_

  
And Bucky, finally letting some of his earlier nervousness and reservations go, responded with a more assured voice than before:

  
"Yes! Yes, I am...hum sir."

  
The man interrogating him scratched the bottom of his chin as he continued: _"I see. So then, tell me son: what position inside our team do you feel the most comfortable with?"_

Oh, Bucky let out a slowly drown-out breath as he slowly smiled,

This would be a  _very_  interesting scenario, thank you very much.

  
And he didn't have to think about it twice when he answered:

  
"Being a sniper, sir. I like to be the silent type that takes out the enemies without being seen and watching my friends' sixes at all times." he responded through the mic.

  
The interrogator smiled slightly. _"Now, that's the kind of response I wanted to hear!"_ Checking what looked like a bunch of papers, he nodded as he added: " _And judging by your previous experiences into what we do, you're quite the experienced one on top of it!"_

  
He was the one smiling wider now as he said:

_"Well then, welcome to the team, Bucky! By the way, what do you want us to be called?"_

  
"Hum..." Bucky quickly thought of cool names for a WW2 military team.

 

What could be good, what could be good?

  
_"The Grappling Superiors"_? _"The Powerful Peacocks"_? The...the...

  
_"I really like "The Howling Commandos" you proposed just now."_ the mustached-man suddenly said with another nod.

  
"How did you...?" Bucky began to ask.

  
_"Super-sensitive sensors."_ Virtual-Tony reminded him.

  
Ah, _right_.

 

"Y-yeah. "The Howling Commandos" is a great name for the team if you want to adopt it, sir" Bucky said.

  
_"Please, call me Duggan. And Howling Commandos it is then!"_ the man in question said and Bucky could swear he'd really shaken another man's hand just now.

  
This whole thing really _was_  worth its hefty price.

  
_"Alrighty then, Bucky, what do you say we go out there and kick some Nazi ass?"_

  
From the corner of his living-room, near midnight, in his brand-new apartment, James Buchanan Barnes grinned to himself as he grabbed the offered virtual riffle and followed the burly man out of the small cabin and into the German wilderness.

  
He was going to _enjoy_ this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Steve's turn!


	4. Steve's turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, what kind of game Steve's been playing? Well...

Steve ran as fast as he possibly could.

  
And that was _damn_ fast, since his legs had been given extra speed and everything.

  
He launched his trusty red, blue and white shield into the air and pumped his fist in victory as it hit right onto its target, the red button behind the giant robot's head, the same one that had been terrorizing the neighborhood just now and had made Steve and his team of fellow superheroes to set out to save their beloved city once again.

  
Its weak point hit for a third time and having no more energy to keep going on, the monster made of steel quickly fell onto the hard ground that was a New York pavement, colorful explosions illuminating the cloudy afternoon sky in its wake before vanishing into thin air.

  
Steve wiped his masked forehead with his gloved hand and adjusted the mic over his mouth as he called out:

  
"Thor, Hawkeye, Hulk, do you guys read me?"

  
And he breathed a sigh a relief when one by one, his teammates checked in:

  
_"Yes Captain, everything is alright on my part."_

  
_"Yo, Cap! We did some good today, didn't we not?"_

  
_"Hulk Smashed!"_

  
And Steve couldn't help but laugh and his smile stayed on his face when he realized that with the monster, or should we say, the robot-of-the-week defeated, he'd received enough gold to do what he'd been dreaming of doing for days now...

  
Upgrading his trusty shield with the...

  
***Beep Beep Beep***

  
Retractable spikes that he....

  
***Beep Beep Beep***

  
Knew would give his already awesome weapon...

  
***Beep Beep Beep***

  
The kick that it needed to take things to another level.

  
***Beep Beep Beep***

  
But, Steve sadly realized that the trip to the equipment room would have to wait until later on that night because...

  
_"Sorry Steve, you're the one that wanted an alarm to alert you when you had to go to work, not me!"_ the AI that had been monitoring his progress said right by his ear.

  
The man in question sighed: "Yeah, yeah I know, don't worry VT, I'm going."

  
Virtual-Tony, or VT as its owner liked to call him, quickly reminded Steve as he saw the latter beginning to take off his gear: _"Hey now! If you don't want to lose all your progress and be able to get that sweet, **sweet** spiky shield when you get home tonight, you know what to do..._ "

  
Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head in mild-annoyance. "Alright then, give me a sec." Putting his right Touchy-Feely Glove back on his hand, he quickly tapped his palms together three times and with that...

  
_"Well there you go, your progress in "Captain America and the Avengers Initiative" was saved. Now then, was it really **that** complicated?"_  VT asked in an admonishing voice, but Steve, knowing the full song-and-dance that happened whenever he forgot to save his game, simply pulled off his glove one more time as he called out:

  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good day to you too, buddy."

  
And he couldn't help but chortle when he heard an indignant and faraway _"Hey!"_ coming from his now-removed helmet.

  
Getting up from his leather couch, Steve took the time to roll around his neck and stretch out his arms.

  
He looked at the clock: 8:36 AM. Hmm, a two-hour session this one was. And thanks to this incredible gift his incredible friends gave him only a month earlier, his mind was just _flooding_ right now with ideas for the next painting that he was about to start.

  
The fifth one he was about to do...

  
Out of the seven that he'd been commissioned to achieve...

  
For his very first showing...

  
That was set to debut in only two weeks from now.

  
And just like every time he did so whenever thought about this amazing opportunity being given to him, Steve was about to squeal like a little child on his or her birthday...

  
Only this time around, he was interrupted...

  
Bu what sounded like the sound of someone walking right above his head.

  
What in the...?

  
Had someone moved in just right above him and he hadn't noticed?

  
Mr. Coulson, the nice owner of the duplex and the reason the whole thing had been a freakin' steal in the first place (hello, rent control), had almost moved oceans and mountains to get someone to rent the other location, but nobody had responded to his ad...

  
Until now it seemed.

  
_Huh_ , Steve thought to himself as he put on his jacket and shoes.

 

Whoever he/she/they were, he hoped was a nice person and they'd all be able to cohabit inside the same building without much problems.

  
Speaking of which, as he turned off the lights and locked up his front door, he realized he just had enough time to check and see if he'd received any paper mail...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: the boys finally meet! :D


	5. Meeting at last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally meet!

Bucky was standing right by his brand new mailbox, circling through his brand new mail when it happened.

  
"Junk, junk, junk. Ooh, Big Mac for 2,99$, I'm *so* in! Junk, junk, junk, junk, god that's a lot of junk..."

  
_"Uhm, excuse me?"_

  
Now, if the mailbox that didn't belong to Bucky (and to whom it belonged to he had no idea, with him moving in the day before and what-not) had been all the way to the left, Bucky easily could have continued his morning letter-or-maybe-just-junk-checking, without any having to move an inch or even raise up his head.

  
But since the mailbox was to his right...he began to sigh as he lifted one foot to step aside...

  
...And immediately set said-foot right down to its previous position and almost dropped the pile of papers that was resting inside his arms, because, because...

  
Because he'd made the mistake (or was it the chance?) of raising his head and seeing exactly who was now standing right next to him, small mailbox key raised into the air, looking almost as in shock as he himself was feeling at this particular moment. 

As... god...

  
_God_...

  
**_God_** this guy was absolutely gorgeous...

  
And he was...was he...?

  
"Are you...?" "Do you...?" they both asked at the same time and both slightly laughed at the timing of their questioning.

  
And if the blond and built-as-hell guy's look had been honey to the eyes, Bucky thought, his voice and laughter was like warm, comforting chocolate right to the ears and to the heart.

  
Seizing the opportunity when he noticed Hot-Guy wasn't saying anything and was only staring at him with big, wide eyes, Bucky let out his best charming smile and extending his hand, he introduced himself:

  
"Hey, I'm James Barnes and since your mailbox seems to be living near my mailbox, I'm guessing you're my downstairs neighbor?"

  
And grabbing his hand in a firm and warm shake, Hot-Guy responded in kind: "Y-yeah. The name's Steve Rogers. So you're the noise that I heard through my ceiling this morning, huh?"

  
Wincing a bit, Bucky apologetically threw his hands in the air as he said: "Yeah, sorry about that. I just moved in last night and if I wanted to get some coffee before going to work, I had to unpack the rest of my kitchen stuff and trust me, that involved a _lot_ of unfortunate metal and glass clonking together. I really do apologize if I bothered you in any-"

  
But he was quickly interrupted by a warm hand on his shoulder and the most gentle smile on the must beautiful face he'd ever had the chance to see as Hot-Guy, or Steve as he'd said his name was just seconds ago, responded: "Hey, all I heard was some walking around and as there hasn't been anybody above my head ever since I've moved here a month ago, I'm just going to have to get used to it. It's okay, really James."

  
And swallowing thickly at the unexpected warmth that was somehow transferring itself from Steve's large hand and into his whole body just now, the long-haired man squeaked out: "Apology accepted. And you can call me Bucky, just like all my friends do, if you want."

  
Coughing a bit to get his voice back straight after Steve seemingly reluctantly removed his hand from his shoulder, Bucky smiled an also reluctant smile as he exclaimed: "Now I don't know about you, but I really have to go to work. It's my first day at my brand-new job, so..." and pointed the door that was standing just behind the blond man's back.

  
And Steve, seemingly realizing something as well, looked down at his watch and exclaimed as he looked back up: "Oh yeah, me too and I'm on a deadline too on top of that..."

  
But neither of them moved a muscle, as if they didn't want this first contact between the two of them to be over yet.

  
It was Bucky, after long, _long_ seconds of silence passed, that suggested:

  
"Do you mind if we take a walk since my workplace isn't that far from here? We can separate when we, you know..."

  
"Yes! I was about to ask you the same thing! We can separate when we have to separate!" exclaimed Steve, grinning as wide as ever, and this time being the one pointing at the front door of the building, he bowed in mock-curtsy and said:  
"After you..."

  
And Bucky, repeating the smile and gesture, exclaimed back:

  
"No, after you."

  
"I do say, after you."

  
"No, I insist! After you."

  
"I repeat, after..."

  
And this went on for about two whole minutes, before the two of them dissolved into giggles and went out the door,

  
Both at the same time.

  
And, as he closed the door behind himself, Bucky couldn't help but think:

  
Hot new neighbor that was as much of a dork as he was?

  
**Score!**

  
************

  
Steve was in heaven.

  
This guy, this James-but-call-me-Bucky guy, was everything he'd ever desired.

  
The looks...

  
Long, flowing brown hair that just _begged_ to be run through?

Eyes that had the color of the sea after a storm passed through and was just beginning to calm itself?

  
A body that was hidden underneath a leather coat and a red sweater but that Steve just _knew_ was probably popping out with hard muscles, maybe even more so than his own fit body was?

  
Yeah, his brand new neighbor had _all_ of these.

  
The personality...

  
The charm that seemed to ooze right out of him at the very first exchange of words?

  
The way he confirmed to be as much of a doofus as he himself really was when he let go of all of the properness of a first meeting and let the real him shine through?

  
And now, the way he way that he was animatedly asking and answering questions as the two of them were making their way down the busy New York street, showing easiness and intelligence through his words?

  
Yeah, his brand new neighbor had _all_ of these too.

  
And on top of it all...

  
"So tell me, what did you major in to?" the blond man asked as they arrived at a corner and stopped to await the upcoming green light.

  
"Oh well, you're going to think it's boring as hell, with you having graduated in Arts and everything." Bucky replied, looking down at the pavement and inserting his hands in his pocket as if he was suddenly shy or something.

  
And that made the man absolutely adorable inside Steve's own eyes.

  
Bumping his shoulder with the other man as the light finally turned color and the two of them made their way down the street, Steve shook his head as he responded: "Hey now, as my mother's always told me: no matter how boring a major seems to be, there's a reason why they're there in the first place. So, tell me, what did you study in?"

  
Raising his head after they'd stopped on the opposite sidewalk, Bucky muttered out with a slight shrug: "Anthropology, in the World War II branch." And seeing Steve's shocked look upon on his face, he added pleadingly: "See? I told you that it was boring."

  
But the blond quickly calmed the other man by shaking his head and replying:: 

"No, no, it's not really. I actually _did_ hesitate between Anthropology and Arts back when I was in D.C and I'm actually glad to finally meet someone who took the road that I didn't take... _and_ the same branch that I was interested too on top of that."

  
Bucky, seeing the truth in the other man's face, seemed to flush a little bit as he kicked a wayward pebble and smiling a little bit, he responded in a quiet voice:

"That's...that's good to hear."

  
And, as the two of them began to walk once again, there was only one thought that was going through the blond man's mind:

  
Hot new neighbor that was as much of a dork as he was _and_ was a history nut to boot?

  
**_Mega Score!_**

*************

  
It was about a half-hour and a lot of walking that both men realized something was afoot here.

  
There were both standing there in front of the famous _"Shield Museum"_...

  
And neither of them were moving an inch.

  
Not that they either of them really wanted to...

  
But...

  
Didn't the other have to leave to go to their workplace eventually?

  
An air of awkwardness once again passed between the two of them.

  
"So..." Steve finally said, looking around, the one now with his hands inside his jeans pockets and bouncing a couple of seconds on the ball of his feet.

  
"Yeah..." Bucky replied, repeating the other man's posture and gestures.

  
...

  
...

  
...

  
"I guess...this is...my stop?" Steve said, pointing at the large building in front of the two.

  
And Bucky looked up, now completely confused.

  
"I thought this was _my_ stop." he exclaimed, also pointing at the museum.

  
Steve blinked a couple of times and then...

  
"You're the reason the memorabilia shop of this place is getting renamed "World Barnes"?!"

  
"And you're that hot-shot painter that I heard so much about and that I bought a ticket for his showing in a couple of weeks?!"

 

And as they both stood there, mouths open in shock but eyes sparkling in an interest that was burning through them as stronger as ever before, there was only one thought that was going through both Bucky and Steve's minds:

  
Hot new neighbor that was as much of a dork as he was, was a history nut to boot _and_ was working in the building as him?

  
**_Ultra Score!_ **


	6. Oh boy...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imagination takes over and things get a little bit...naughty...

  
**One week later...**

  
Steve closed the door to his apartment and leaned against it, sighing deeply.

  
Another day filled to the brim with James "Bucky" Barnes.

From their happy hello and chatting that very morning to their daily walk up to their respective jobs, followed by their daily lunch together into the museum's cafeteria and then finishing off to their daily walk back home and nightly farewell.

  
Not that Steve would complain about all of this, oh no, to the contrary.

The thing was...his opening was in about a week now and he still had one painting left to do. 

And for the life of him he just _couldn't_ concentrate on the task at hand, his mind, his heart and...other parts as well always thinking, feeling and throbbing for his downstairs neighbor.

Steve sighed once more as he took off his coat.

  
He was _this_ close to just draw a huge red heart with _"S. R. + B. B."_ written in the middle of it and call it a day.

  
He needed a distraction, something to get his mind off of the attractive man and into the creative way one more time.

  
And he just _knew_ the way to do it...

  
**************

  
Bucky sighed in pure relief.

  
Now this...this was the _shit_ right here.

Nothing like blowing up and taking out some Nazis scum to relieve the stress.

  
Oh, it wasn't anything new job-related, mind you. Nope, working at his brand-new World War II memorabilia shop was going grand, swell...however you wanted to qualify it.

  
Nope, his stress wasn't in the mind area, but in the cardiac area...

  
Because Steve Rogers...Steve Rogers made him sigh,

  
Steve Rogers made him laugh,

  
Steve Rogers made him blush,

  
Steve Rogers made him feel things he hadn't felt in a very long time, perhaps _ever_.

  
Damn him for being so interesting in all his aspects!

  
And making his cardiac-area stress move into his neither regions-area from time to time, whenever the blond wore something a little bit snug or his eyes shone a little too brightly when he passionately recounted something...

  
_Argh_! Bucky groaned as he paused his game for a second and put his gloved hands in front of his face. _You're doing this to relieve your stress for the day, not adding more on top of it!_ Bucky reprimanded himself.

  
Taking a deep breath, Bucky pushed the small button at the center of his right palm and resumed playing.

  
...there really _was_ nothing like blowing up and taking out some Nazis scum to relieve the stress.

  
**************

  
Steve, or as he baptized himself for this particular game, Captain America, was once again running as fast as his serumed legs could go.

  
_Damn_ this guy was fast.

  
Well, he should have been aware of this. After all, as the intel for this brand-new mission had described, the man that he was pursuing right now on top of New York buildings was a formidable assassin, having taken out dozens of political figures over the past few decades without ever being intercepted, but when a recent attack had provided footage of the man, known as the Winter Soldier, the Avengers had finally found a lead and in Steve a chance to finally bring the criminal in.

  
...if the criminal in question wasn't kicking his ass right now at jumping and running, that is.

  
What the hell should he do?

  
_Focus Steve_ , he thought to himself, _look around you and see if there's any way to bring the muzzle and googles covered man into a trap._

  
Frantically looking around, Captain America smiled to himself when he saw the Winter Soldier prepare to make a landing that, if he connected his spike-covered shield with just right...

  
"Bingo!" Steve triumphantly shouted in his living-room. He proudly smirked as he watched the so-called assassin tumbled down several storeys worth of height and crashed down straight onto the nearby alleyway floor.

  
Easily bouncing from fire escape to fire escape down to the pavement floor, Captain America caught up with the weakened Winter Solder, who was doing his best to escape, but with a seemingly twisted ankle, really wasn't going that fast anymore.

  
"And where the hell do you think you're going, pal?" Captain America calmly asked the hopping criminal, who quickly turned around to try and throw a weak metal-armed punch to defend himself, that Cap quickly dodged and made the Soldier grab his nose and fall down backwards when his forehead collided with his own in a headbutt.

  
Kneeling over and grabbing his catch by long, silky brown hair (?), Captain America moved his other hand behind the masked man's head and declared:

  
"Now, before I bring you in, let me see who you really are..."

  
And with a click, the googgles around the other man's eyes were removed to reveal...

  
To reveal...

  
Eyes that had the color of the sea after a storm passed through and was just beginning to calm itself...

  
Steve suddenly felt his heart-rate speed up when the so-called Winter Soldier, whom he'd thought had been just another NPC inside the game that he'd been playing for the better part of a month, took his muzzle off the lower-half of his face with his fleshy hand...

  
And divulged to Steve the face that had been haunting his every day-dreams and night-dreams for a whole week now.

  
"B-Bucky?!" he stammered out, his throat suddenly going dry.

  
"Yeah, it's me... So the fuck what? What are you going to do about it, Spangly Boy? You wanna beat the shit out of me for hiding this from you?" the Virtual Bucky angrily spat out...

  
Only for his sneer to change to a grinning one as he trailed his eyes up and down Steve's fit form and licking his virtual lips, he silkily asked:

  
"...Or do you want to punish me in a more agreeable but also as much bruisable way?"

  
Steve's eyes went comically wide.

  
**************

  
"Tony! What the _hell_?!" Bucky suddenly shouted through his helmet.

  
The A.I, with a smack of virtual lips, answered: "...yes?"

  
Pointing in front of him as if the evidence really was there, Bucky widened his eyes and shook his head in disbelief as he tried to calm himself. "Can you _please_ explain to me why my new so-called commander, that I haven't even heard a mention even once before just now, looks exactly like my upstairs neighbor? And why, when I arrived inside his cabin to get my next mission, he was wearing nothing but a red, blue and white thong and was holding a zucchini inside his hands?!" he calmly asked.

  
"Hey now! Don't go blaming me on where your head ends up going when you put this machine of mine on! It ain't my fault you got quite the imaginative mind and if I do say so myself, quite the good-looking neighbors..." the A.I responded and Bucky felt heat creep up at the back of his neck...

"Sh-shut up, alright? I called you out to explain, not check out people I find attractive, alright?" he stammered out.

"Well then..." the Virtual Tony started to say

  
**************

  
"You mean, this machine can go into sexual fantasies as well as gaming ones?" Steve asked, trying to understand what V.T had just explained to him.

  
"Yep. As I said before, it's your imagination that's running the show Steve. You can make it go wherever you want it to go. And, withstanding some things that could get the police on your ass, if it's in the XXX area that your unconscious mind wants to go, then it's there that it wants to go and it's up to the conscious part to decide if you want to follow or not." the A.I added.  
Steve sat there, thinking for a long minute or two.

  
**************

  
"Well, as the old saying goes..." Bucky finally said, unpausing the game and standing face to face with the nearly-naked, zucchini-holding and devilishly-smirking Virtual Steve...

  
"If you can't beat them, beat it with them!" he finished his sentence as he dropped his second virtual boot right onto the floor and...

  
Propped himself against the wooden wall of his new commander's cabin to receive...

  
Oh, dear...

This was clearly some XXX stuff right there.


	7. Advice from an unusual place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys receive some advice...right from their own minds....

The Virtual-Bucky collapsed on top of Steve, drenched to the bone in sweat (and other bodily fluids), heaving exhausted breath after exhausted breath in tandem with the man laying underneath him.

  
They'd been going at it for what seemed like an eternity, in every possible positions Steve's mind could come up with, the both of them having a go everywhere the console permitted them to.

  
Who knew Steve Rogers had such a dirty,  _dirty_ imagination? And who knew virtual sex literally in mid-air could be so damn gratifying?

  
But now they were back right where they'd began, on a surprisingly very clean alley floor, with the blond man slightly running his fingers inside what his mind had conjured as the softest strands of hair he'd ever touched, with the NPC that wasn't really an NPC giving him soft kisses against his throat, making him slightly giggle.

  
Having regained his composure from this latest round, Steve finally coughed out, his voice hoarse from all of the moaning and shouting that he'd been doing all this time: "Hey, what time is it?"

  
Raising his chin, the Virtual-Bucky smiled slightly as he whispered in his also-damaged voice: "10:09 on the dot."

  
Steve was slightly surprised.

  
"We've been going like this for five hours now? Feels like it went on longer, actually."

  
The Virtual-Bucky's smiled widened as he pecked the man underneath him on the lips and said with a raised eyebrow: "Yeah well, that's what happens when you get lost in Virtual Reality and the track of real time on top of it all. Speaking of which..."

  
And to Steve's disappointment and slighltly grabby hands, the Virtual-Bucky made a move to sit up and...

  
************

  
_"What do you mean, you've got to go?"_ Bucky called out from his small bunk bed, as he watched the Virtual-Steve that he'd conjured up only hours earlier put on a T-shirt the brown-haired man just _knew_ he hadn't worn when he'd first appeared in front of his supposed subordinate.

  
The blond man turned his head as he adjusted the shirt down his torso and went over to the bed, sitting on top of the covers that Bucky was lying naked underneath of.

  
Cupping his cheek with a large hand, the Virtual-Steve sympathetically smiled as he answered: "I'm really sorry, Buck. While I had quite the fun time with you, this isn't the right way to go."

  
Putting a finger up to interrupt the other man's own attempt at interrupting, the blond man added: "I'm just a figment of your imagination inside a gaming console that was given to you as a gift. I may look like Steve Rogers, I may sound like Steve Rogers, but you and I both know that I'm _not_ Steve Rogers. And it's the real Steve Rogers that you want, the one that's living downstairs to your apartment and that's also working inside the same building as you, not some pixellated, idealized version of him. Tell me, am I mistaken here?"

  
Bucky slowly and silently shook his head, his face in a slight frown.

 

  
************

  
"...So, that's why I have to leave. If you start this now with me, soon you'll become addicted to what is pretty much a fantasy and you'll never get to experience even an ioda of the happiness that you could have with the real me that's out there. Because, let's face it, I'm just something that came from your head and right now, you're still on your livingroom couch, still as alone as ever." explained the Virtual-Bucky, putting his second and last virtual army boot on as he talked.

  
Steve, who was now standing next to his imagined companion with his own virtual clothes magically back on, could only look down at the alley floor and nod as he said: "You're right."

  
Looking back up, he couldn't help but ask: "But then, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

  
***********

  
"Tell the real me how you really feel, that's what's meant to be next for you. Ask him out on a real date, not just on lunch breaks and walks to and back from work. Who knows, Bucky, maybe he fantasizes about you just as much, or maybe even _more_ as you fantasize about him." the Virtual-Steve answered, before leaning over and pecking Bucky on the lips.

  
Retreating back with a grin, the blond man couldn't help himself as he slapped the now also standing long-haired man right on his slightly-hurting ass as he wolfishly added: "And also, if you can take as much in real-life as you can inside a FanStarky, _boy_ is the real me in for a sweet, _sweet_ time!"

  
And seeing the other man blush at that, as he remembered the various different objects that they'd both had experimented with earlier that night, the Virtual-Steve waved a slight goodbye, before disappearing right in front of the Very-Real Bucky's very eyes.

  
***********

  
As he watched the Virtual-Bucky walk away from him after giving him a goodbye kiss on the cheek, Steve took off his helmet and his gloves.

  
Standing up, his resolve as strong as ever, he knew what he had to do...

...

  
...Right after getting a shower and ridding himself off his now-dampened pants, not knowing that right around the same time, his upstairs neighbor was doing the very same thing, his own determination also now as strong as steel.


	8. No words needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is finally ready to confess his growing feelings for Bucky...
> 
> And receives the shock of a lifetime.

_*Knock* *Knock*_

  
Steve was standing at Bucky's door about two hours after his shower, dressed in his best suit and a freshly-bought bouquet of red roses resting in his arms.

  
_*Knock* *Knock*_

  
He'd finally gathered the courage to do the one thing he'd been afraid to do ever since the moment he'd first laid eye on his upstairs' neighbor and he remembered Bucky telling him that he had some restoration work to do and would have to be up way past midnight and right now it wasn't way past midnight and...

  
_*Knock* *Knock*_

  
Where the hell was he?

  
He was about to knock one more time, maybe even yell out his neighbor's name to see if he was okay and forget about what his primary mission, when his cellphone buzzed him a message.

  
_Who the hell was texting at this hour?_ he thought to himself and his curiosity getting peaked, he took a look...

  
And immediately understood why Bucky wasn't answering his door and hearing Steve's late-night confession right this instant, as the message read:

  
_"Come to my shop as soon as you can, I need to talk to you. Buck."_

  
Looking at the flowers that he'd bought only a half-hour earlier and then back at his phone, Steve's resolve flared up once more as he went down the stairs and out the door.

  
If he wasn't going to confess his feelings to Bucky in his home place, he was going to do so in his work place.

  
*************

  
Steve's face was the pure expression of shock. If it could have, his lower jaw would have probably been touching the pavement right about now.

  
His fist stood in the air, mid attempt at knocking. He'd made the mistake of looking up (or was it a mistake?) and see what was waiting for him right by the window of Bucky's shop...

  
There, on shelves where different kinds of souvenirs from the last great War usually stood, were now standing different kinds of lit candles.

  
At the center, where people usually stood in line to pay or check out what was offered to them stood a small table, with a white rose laying right next to two glasses full of red wine, his favorite one to boot.

  
And right by the door, where Bucky usually greeted everyone that came in and loved to regal them with different tales about what he was selling, stood the source of Steve's recent dreams and fantasies, virtual and real, looking even more attractive than Steve ever thought he could look in his three-piece suit and tied-up hair and...

  
With the same surprised expression on his stubbled face than the blond's, his eyes constantly switching between the bouquet resting at Steve's side and his own alarmed eyes, as if questioning what he was seeing really was what he thought.

  
And right there, Steve picked up his jaw from up the dirty pavement and simply nodded, his face freaking into a beaming smile.

  
Finally unlocking the door of his shop, Bucky never got around to confess anything to Steve, a look into eyes and at flowers was enough of an answer to his feelings, as he rushed over, overcome with an emotion bigger than friendship, more vivid than lust, throwing his arms around the taller man, feeling warmer than in any scenario that he could cook up between the two.

  
And in the end, Steve never got around to ask Bucky out on a date, his mouth too busy giving his upstairs' neighbor the kiss that they'd both been thinking about, been dreaming about, been fantasizing about...

  
Hell, been _playing_ about,

  
But that was somehow even **better** than the two of them could ever anticipate. 


	9. Satisfied costumers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After all, it was guaranteed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go, guys! Epilogue time! :D Thanks to everybody that liked this story, it really meant the world to me. :)

**New York City, three months later...**

  
Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes collapsed on the tile floor, both sweaty as hell and satiated as fuck.

  
"W-Wow." was all Steve could say, looking up at the ceiling. Who knew that a spatula could have so many damn nasty, but also naughty uses?

  
"Y-Yeah." was all Bucky could reply, looking in the same direction. Who knew that a kitchen sink could be such an ideal place for activities other than washing things?

  
"We-We have to get up, Natasha and Sam are coming up in twenty minutes or so." Steve heaved out, stretching to get his aching-but-in-a-good way bones a chance.

  
Bucky took a deep breath to get his rapidly beating heart back at regular speed. "I know, but you were looking so delectable making that pasta for our dinner that I just couldn't pass it up." he said, finally sitting up a bit and giving his boyfriend a slight smirk.

  
Steve's grin lit up his own features as he brandished his hand out. "Yeah well, hope you're not like that when we go to your mom's next weekend. I don't really wanna be the source of embarrassing stories, thank you very much."

  
"Oh, trust me, when I tell my sister and you tell your friends about how we've been using their gaming gifs ever since we've gotten together, we're _both_ prime for embarrassing stories, thank you very much." replied the brunet, getting up from the cold kitchen floor with the help his love's warm grip.

  
"Heh, at least we ended up getting satisfied in more ways than one, thanks to what Tony Stark ended up creating, aren't we?" asked Steve, throwing an arm around his boyfriend's shoulder.

  
And Bucky couldn't help but steal a glance at the painting that was planted just above Steve's kitchen table, that unbeknownst to him, was about to become *their* kitchen table in a matter of weeks...

  
The last one that Steve had created for his first, but certainly not last showing, all depicting super-powered beings,

  
The one that Bucky had immediately bought at first glance,

  
That one that depicted Steve wearing a red, blue and white costume and mask,

  
And also the one that depicted himself covered in World War II army fatigues and a bad-ass metal arm.

  
The one that Steve had lovingly titled:

  
_"Captain America and his Winter Soldier"._

  
"Yeah, you can say we ended up being a couple of very, _very_ satisfied costumers." he finally replied with a wiggle of the eyebrows, to which his boyfriend let out a hearty laugh, as the two of them made their way to greet their now-knocking guests.

  
Very satisfied costumers indeed. 


End file.
